Topos Wines
2009 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend
Red Blend
California: Oakville (Napa)
Mission Briefing
Topography of the Soul
Today’s Topos Wines 2009 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend was the unquestioned hit of our recent tasting panel. We always love discovering under-the-radar wineries, and love it even more when their wines are out of this world good!
This wine is a heady blend of Napa Cab and Petite Syrah, and is absolutely gorgeous in the glass. Full of intense dark fruits, smoky sweet hints of terroir, and a slight touch of rustic minerality, this wine is really the complete package. Quite a few members of our tasting panel found themselves pouring a second glass of this gem!
We love red blends at TWS, and this is a prime example of a winemaker who knows his stuff. Get yours now!
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Deep scarlet with flecks of purple throughout the glass, with a hint of a lighter ruby at the edge of the glass. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Intense flavors of blackberry and dark plum laid overtop tobacco leaf, berry bramble, toasted oak spice, hints of sage, and a touch of minerality. |
| Taste: | A wonderful blend of bold dark fruit flavors and terroir notes of earth and smoke. Black plum, black currant, and boysenberry mingle with dark baking spices, sweet tobacco leaf, rosemary, espresso bean, and a rustic graphite minerality. |
| Finish: | A smooth and well structured finish, highlighted by extracted notes of blackberry and a touch of pomegranate herbal tea at the finish. |
| Pairing: | A ribeye, grilled on an open charcoal flame, served alongside roasted golden potatoes. |
What the Winery Says
The 2009 Proprietary Red Blend is well-structured and balanced fruit forward wine. Black cherry, currant and crème de cassis on the nose complements hints of spice, mint and tobacco on the palate. Round tannins and a moderate finish correlates to a ripe and ready to drink wine best from 2009- 2018.
- Winemaker
- Michael Meade
- Appellation
- Oakville, Napa Valley, California
- Fruit Variety
- 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petite Sirah
- Case Production
- 150 Cases
- ABV
- 13.6%
About the Winery
to*pos – a sense of place and commonality. It is this philosophy that guides our winemaking to reflect location and distinct varietal qualities. We believe the best wines start on the vines and are sourced from the best vineyards. Topos was born in 2008 out of a shared passion for wine and a love of the Napa Valley. Four partners, one vision: produce the best wines from the highest quality fruit that the Napa Valley has to offer.
Winemaker Michael Meade
Michael became intrigued by wine at a rather early age when a friend scored a bottle of Chateau Margaux from her father’s wine collection. Beautiful, seductive and elegant fruit enticed his palate—he was stunned by how different this wine was from any he had tasted before.
Later in life, while in the military, he was stationed in Northern California for a year. A friend suggested they go wine tasting in the Napa Valley, and Michael had an unforgettable experience. He also had the opportunity to travel through France, where he was able to taste wine and begin to understand the nuances of each wine region.
Upon leaving the military, he settled in San Francisco, but the Napa Valley was calling his name and he finally moved there in 1998.
Michael worked under many winemakers, volunteering his time and learning all he could about the process. He also took wine courses from the Court of Master Sommeliers and Wine Spirit and Education Trust (WSET) and traveled to some of the top wine growing regions in the world.
Inspired by what he’d learned, he started making his own wine in his garage, securing the best grapes he could, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from Oakville. Michael shared his wine with Armand, Brad, and Ryan (his current partners), and after many gatherings and many more glasses of wine, in 2014 they decided to begin a new venture: Topos Wine.